The Playful Paradigm

Can games revive the community spirit, especially in disadvantaged groups and families?

The cities of Cork in Ireland and Larissa in Greece used playful activities as an original component of the welfare services provided by the local authorities during the pandemic emergency, even taking the opportunity to fight the digital divide.

With URBACT Expert Simone d’Antonio, Vasilis Mitsios URBACT Local Group Coordinator for the Playful Paradigm in Larissa (GR) and Denise Cahill, Cork Healthy Cities Co-Ordinator (IE).

How can playful activities promote sustainability and healthy lifestyles? And how can smart procurement help cities carrying them out?

The Playful Paradigm partner cities of Klaipeda in Lithuania and Novigrad-Cittanova in Croatia have been working to promote their citizens’ well-being, even facing a range of limitations due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Organizing such activities requires a clever organization of the public procurement process.

With URBACT Expert Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson, Laura Kubiliutė, head of public monitoring and projects department for the Klaipėda City Public Health Bureau (LT) and Corinne Pozzecco, Playful Paradigm Project Coordinator for the City of Novigrad (HR).

Can playful activities be part of educational schemes at urban level?

The experiences of Klaipeda in Lithuania and Esplugues de Llobregat in Spain can show the role of games as part of training paths for promoting active life and creative thinking in students and families.

With URBACT Expert Ileana Toscano, Laura Kubiliutė, head of public monitoring and projects department for the Klaipėda City Public Health Bureau (LT) and Guadalupe Penas, URBACT Local Group Coordinator for the Playful Paradigm in Esplugues de Llobregat (SP).

Can games and play encourage civic engagement and inclusion?

The Playful Paradigm partner cities of Esplugues de Llobregat in Spain, Katowice in Poland and Larissa in Greece focused their action on using games and gamification, even adopting digital platforms, for ensuring a wider participation of specific categories of residents and active inclusion at local level.

With URBACT Expert Ileana Toscano, Pilar Diaz, Mayor of Esplugues de Llobregat (SP), Michał Kucharski, URBACT Local Group Coordinator for the Playful Paradigm in Katowice (PL) and Vasilis Mitsios URBACT Local Group Coordinator for the Playful Paradigm in Larissa (GR).

Can we use play to Re-think City spaces? What are placemaking and playmaking?

The City of Cork, in Ireland, and the City of Udine, in Italy, promoted schemes for rethinking public spaces with temporary reuses involving the organization of playful activities, testing innovative schemes of place-making and focusing on games and activities involving different generations of residents. This practice is called placemaking.

With URBACT Expert Wessel Badenhorst, Denise Cahill, Cork Healthy Cities Co-Ordinator (IE) and Marco Pollastri, President of Centro Antartide, Bologna (IT).